Every Ending Brings a New Beginning
by rmj.hurst
Summary: When Hermione Granger falls pregnant to her secret on-again-off-again boyfriend, Draco Malfoy, in their final year of Hogwarts, she is faced with a whole new world of challenges that even she will find difficult. Will Draco step up to the plate or will his esteemed family get in the way? Or will someone else come into the picture, willing to be the one that Hermione needs?
1. Chapter 1

**Hermione**

I don't even know where to start. How does one even begin to explain how something like this happens to someone like me? Someone so driven, so level-headed and responsible and careful? My life was ruined now, that was certain. I had no idea what I was going to do, how I was going to tell everyone. My parents, oh God, my parents! This would crush them; they would probably never look at me the same way again. And school? Of course the other students would ridicule me and stare as I walked down the halls, but the thing that was the most upsetting was knowing how the professors would look at me with disappointment, shake their heads and whisper how, "she had so much going for her, how could do this to herself?" Were people like me even accepted at school? Would they kick me out? I had never heard of anyone else. It was a taboo in regular muggle schools, it must be ten times more frowned upon at Hogwarts.

I had so much to figure out. It was my final year, I couldn't give up now. I knew I had to do everything in my power to get through this, because I would be on my own from now on, I knew it.

There was only one person I felt like speaking to right now, and I knew he wouldn't want to know me when he found out what I had to say, but I had to tell him.

I sat down at the desk that was sitting underneath my bedroom window, overlooking my quiet neighbourhood street in central London, and pulled a perfectly un-crinkled piece of parchment from the drawer. Dipping my quil in my inkpot, I mused for a moment, wondering what to write. After several moments I realised there was no way to say it but to come right out with it. No point in beating around the bush.

_Harry, _

I wrote. I paused, gathering up the courage to put the words to the paper.

_I'm pregnant._

I didn't sign my name at the bottom. There was no way to sign a letter like that off. How would you put it? _Love Hermione? From Hermione? _Just plain old, _Hermione?_ No. He would know who it was from when my owl arrived.

I tied the letter to my owl, Ping's leg, and sent him on his way. Now, to wait.

**Harry**

"Harry, owl for you," Sirius called up the stairwell. I put the textbook I had been reading down and made my way down the three flights of stairs, to the kitchen where my godfather sat with Lupin and Tonks, who was bouncing baby Teddy on her lap. Ping, Hermione's owl, sat perched at an open window above the counter.

"Hey, Ping," I patted the little black owl's head lovingly and took the envelope from his leg. Undoing it, I took out the parchment. The words I read shocked me, I didn't even realised my mouth had been hanging wide open until Sirius said something and I whipped around to face all three of them gazing at me with concerned looks on their faces.

"Is everything okay?" Lupin asked me.

"Y-yes," I managed, recovering. "Uh, just a summer homework thing that I had forgotten all about until I read Hermione's letter. I have to go and get started on it."

Upstairs, in what used to be Sirius's room but was now mine, since I had moved into Grimauld Place with him, I fumbled around for a piece of parchment and a bottle of ink. When I had located them both, I sat down and began scrawling.

_Jesus Christ, Hermione. _

_How? Who's? __What are you going to _

_You know what, just come here for the rest of the Summer. We'll figure it out._

**Hermione**

I smiled, reading Harry's response. When the whole world was undoubtedly going to turn its' back on me, at least I knew I could count on my best friend to support me through thick and thin.


	2. Chapter 2

_Wow, guys, I'm overwhelmed to see so many people reading my story in such a short amount of time! Going back over it now I realised chapter 1 was a bit short, I promise to make them lengthlier from now on; it was 1 in the morning when I threw that together, after all. _

**Draco**

"Draco, get down here."

_Great._

"Yes?" I said, as I sat down at the long, black dining table, facing my father. After 18 years I had learned to interpret his voice when he called upon me. I could tell when it would be good news, when I would be getting a scolding, or when he was about to 'ask' me to do something that I had no choice in the majority of the time. But today, I couldn't tell.

"Don't use that tone of voice with me, Draco," he said calmly. I waited, not bothering to reply. After a long pause, he continued. "Pansy Parkinson."

"What about her?"

"Her father and I have struck up quite the friendship."

"That's nice, Father."

"What do you think of Pansy, Draco?"

I sighed. I knew this conversation was due to be coming and I had dreaded the day.

Families within my parents' circle often would scope out each other, then they would decide who they would like to see their own respective son or daughter become 'friends' with, each hoping for a marriage at the end. It was much like an arranged marriage that you see in eastern countries and religions, only, I'm pretty sure those people had a lot more choice in the matter. They all thought they were sly in pointing us in the direction of one another, but we all knew that every bit of it was planned. They wanted to carry on their perfect family name, by picking the perfect son or daughter-in-law to join their family. Some parents even decided before they were born who they would choose. The lucky ones really did fall in love, but the unlucky, well...

Currently Pansy, who was in Slytherin with me at school, and I were the only children of our families circle of friends who weren't 'betrothed' as such, and it was not surprising that our fathers would make this decision.

"She's alright. Not really my type." I replied, trying to nip my father's idea in the bud. Sadly, to no avail.

"Oh?" He smiled, amused. "And what is your type, son?"

"I don't know." I said, shrugging. "Not Pansy."

"I think Pansy is a lovely girl, Draco," he stood. "And I think you would do well to become... better acquainted with her."

This was not a suggestion, it was an order.

Back in my room, I slumped down on my massive black four-poster bed and stared towards the ceiling. _Just one week left,_ I told myself. _One week, away from him and back with your friends. Back with her._

**Hermione**

Thank God Harry had offered for me to stay with him for the remaining week of the summer, because I had to tell my parents the news and I couldn't possibly stay in this house with their disappointed looks for very long after I broke the news.

"Mum," I said meekly, entering the kitchen where she was cooking dinner. Dad was sitting at the dining table reading the muggle newspaper. "Dad,"

"What is it, sweetheart?" Mum said, looking up as she stirred something in the pot.

I took a deep breath. "I have something to tell you, and you're going to hate me."

She stopped stirring, and Dad put down his newspaper, peering up at me over his glasses. "Honey," he said, reaching out for my hand. "Whatever it is, we could absolutely never hate you. You know that."

That's when the tears started. "But you will." I sobbed. Mum hurried over and pulled me into a hug. "Sshhh," she whispered, kissing my forehead. "Stop crying and sit down."

"I can't," I said. I couldn't sit down, because I was so nauseous from being so worked up and nervous that I needed to be standing in order to rush to the bathroom if I had to. "I'm pregnant."

You could almost hear the earth move during the silence that followed my outburst, but my parents quickly recovered themselves.

"You're what?" Dad asked, shocked.

"I'm pregnant." I repeated, wiping the tears from under my eyes.

"By who?" Mum had dropped her arm now; she was no longer hugging me.

I hesitated.

"By who?" She repeated, louder. Before I could even respond, she continued. "How could you do this, Hermione? That _damn _school! I knew sending you there was the biggest mistake we would ever make!"

"Jane-" Dad started, but Mum cut him off.

"Don't Jane me, Daniel. Your daughter is pregnant, for God's sake!" She turned on me. "Get out. Leave. Don't come back."

I backed away, more tears spilling from my eyes. I hadn't expected her to react that way, but I couldn't blame her. I made my way clumsily up the stairs, hearing my parents arguing back in the kitchen. I had already packed everything, planning on leaving to Harry's anyway; all I had to do was grab my trunk and my wand. Ping was already at Harry's; I had told him to go there and stay there so I wouldn't need to worry about him. Just as I opened my bedroom door to go back downstairs and leave, I came face to face with my father, who had a pained expression on his face.

"Hermione," he started.

"I'm so sorry, Dad." I cried. He pulled me into the tightest hug my awkward father had ever hugged anyone.

"Your mother is very upset right now, but she will calm down." He promised. "You have somewhere to go that's safe?"

I nodded.

"Good girl. It's just best for now. I love you, remember that. I will write to you and we will sort this out, okay?"

I nodded again, unable to find words. We hugged again, and I made my way down the stairs and out the front door of what used to be my childhood home. As I closed it behind me, all I could think was_ I will never be the kind of mother who turns on her daughter when she needs her most._


End file.
